In the early morning, the clear moonlight poured down from the night sky.
Kuang Wenbai was woken up twice by the noise coming from outside. The pain on his face worsened, and he couldn't sleep at all.
For him, Jiangning was really an unlucky place. He was involved in two inexplicable battles between masters. He didn't even see where the enemy came from, and his nose was completely smashed.
Having your nose broken is a terrible thing.
Especially after applying wound medicine after the nose is rotten, the stimulation of the medicine and the pain on the face are mixed together, making it difficult to breathe smoothly. In addition, various weird "smells" appear out of thin air from time to time, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false.
, it was just extremely uncomfortable. In the past few days, he had choked on his own saliva and woke up many times in his sleep. Suddenly he woke up and inhaled the medicine on his nose into his lungs. He was close to choking to death several times. The reason why
, it’s hard to describe in one word.
Everyone in the world should have their noses broken once, so that maybe they can understand the hardship he's going through at this moment.
What was unlucky was not only the two injuries. The second time he was injured was on Jin Street. When an accident occurred, he was punched and knocked unconscious. Later - perhaps someone wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape - he was dragged into a nearby building.
In the alley, he took off all his clothes. When he woke up, the situation was very embarrassing. Although he argued that he was a member of the Undead Guard, Gao Huiyun's subordinates who came to clear the area refused to believe it. Later, there was a big fuss, even though some nearby companions came.
vouched for him, but the whole thing spread later.
Kuang Wenbo has been licking blood for half his life. Although due to limited talents and opportunities, he failed to become a famous grand master in martial arts, he is now in his forties, has traveled all over the world, and made countless enemies. He can still be regarded as a master.
He is a well-informed old Jianghu. If he were not in Jiangning, where heroes from all over the world gathered at this moment, but in a rural town, he would be a person who could control a scene...
When I went through ups and downs in the past, I also thought about what I would encounter in the future. In the world of rivers and lakes, it would be to lose hands and feet, and grow old in desolation.
.But what fate has done to people is unimaginable. In Jiangning, they lost their noses completely and were stripped of their clothes. As a deputy of the elite "Undead Guard" under the command of the "King of Wheels",
When he went out in the past few days, he always felt like others were pointing at him and saying something. This world road was completely going astray before his eyes, which made him feel at a loss.
Of course, after a broken nose, the first thing to do is to recuperate. Not long after the Jinlou incident, King Ping Ping entered the city, and Jiangning was at peace for a while. The undead guard's work was free, so he was given some time to rest.
of leave.
During the ten days in early September, internal meetings were held every day, and competitions in the city were also going on in a lively manner. Heroes from all walks of life gathered together, and stories of competitions were heard every day. It can truly be said to be the most ideal world in the world.
atmosphere. However, in the past two days after the Double Ninth Festival, the situation finally began to become complicated again.
Various cities and towns began to strengthen their defenses, and at night there were sounds of chaos again. Although the internal meeting of the Fair Party was still in session, the whole atmosphere had a vague feeling like before the storm.
Unable to sleep anyway, Kuang Wenbo resisted the complicated feeling in his nose and carefully applied ointment on himself. Then he dressed up and went out. The core of his appearance was naturally around his mouth and nose. Since his nose was missing,
, and applied ointment. If he went out directly with the bandage, he would be like the thief in the play. After applying the ointment, he had to make an extra layer of mask for himself, covering the entire lower half of his face. This made him
It looks mysterious and evil, but it's not easy to take it off and eat it.
Based on this image, he is also ready to make himself an iron mask with the lower half of his face. After the nose injury is healed, he can continue to wander around the world. Of course, Jiang Ning is no longer easy to hang out, and here he is an immortal guard.
Yes, many people know him well. Once he dresses up strangely, it will make others talk more about the reason for his mask. But after leaving Jiangning, the world is so big that he can make a living wherever he goes.
After leaving the room, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. This was a small town occupied by the "Undead Guards". Wooden walls were built around it and there were soldiers patrolling the roof. At night like this, many people would sit on it and take a nap, but because
There was noisy just now, and some figures were standing on a high place looking into the distance. Kuang Wenbai went up the stairs on the side, and saw that there was still movement coming from the dim city in the distance.
"What's wrong?" He walked up to a soldier and asked.
"Oh, Captain Kuang." The other party glanced at him, and then pointed to the street in the distance, "There was a group of people chasing from here just now. Three people escaped, more than 20 people chased them, and there were also people on horseback. Look, we are going
We went to the other end of Bingzi Street. Bingzi Street is inhabited by a bunch of poor people. Although they are under the banner of King of Fairness, they are a mixed bag without even a barricade. I think this is going to cause a big fuss."
"Is it that book club thing again?"
"It looks like someone chasing someone, flying the 'Baofenghao' Tianzi flag."
The two of them watched the commotion on the wall. Sure enough, the commotion, which was not a big one before, did not gradually stop. Instead, it became more violent after it spread to Bingzi Street. Jiangning City was in chaos.
In the past few months, similar situations are not uncommon. Many forces with backgrounds have cleared out some of the streets and alleys in the city that are still intact, but there will always be a large number of refugees who have nowhere to go, so some of them have been burned down.
, or temporary gatherings in dilapidated places. These people are sometimes gathered into a small force, but more often they are beaten to death and dispersed in the chaos.
When vendettas break out in cities, the hunted who have nowhere to go often have no choice but to flee to such areas, hoping to cause greater chaos and seek a chance for themselves. And the refugees and beggars in these places
Although he has some fighting ability due to his lack of skills, in the eyes of the elites directly under the five parties of the Fairness Party, he is completely non-threatening.
More than 20 people chased the three people all the way, and they didn't know how many more people would be trampled to death on the way. Sure enough, as the chaos on Bingzi Street began to become louder, someone fired a loud arrow in the chaos, and it was exactly
The herringbone flag of "Baofeng Hao" was waving the command arrow, and in a street not far from Bingzi Street, there was also another group of people approaching, so the two of them took a closer look.
"He is from 'Long Xian' Fu Pingbo."
"They are really tired." Kuang Wenbo laughed with some schadenfreude. Fu Pingbo, the "Seven Sages" and "Dragon Sages" under King He Wen, is in charge of the internal direct guard, which can be regarded as one of He Wen's most useful arms, and as a "turnover"
The "Undead Guard", the strongest guard under the "Lun King", often competes with the "Long Xian". Of course, in the past few months in Jiangning, Fu Pingbo has led his men to put out fires everywhere, causing more troubles, and the "Undead Guard" has killed and arrested people.
People don't do things like looking after homes and homes. This makes the immortal guards feel somewhat superior when they see Fu Pingbo running around.
"Captain Kuang, you are well-informed." The soldier on the side looked at the excitement in the darkness and tilted his head, "Do you think this matter... can it be done?"
"Why don't you forget it?" Kuang Wenbo likes to answer people's questions very much, and he seems to smile but not smile when he hears the questions.
"That's it... can our fair party's conference still be held?" The soldier lowered his voice, "People outside are saying that the King of Fairness is crazy and wants to admit the book club thing, saying that it is against him.
The other four challenged, and then... you see, this King of Pingren, we could have talked, but something went wrong. A son almost died the afternoon before yesterday. We met to merge. If this continues, it doesn't look good."
"It doesn't matter if a big shot's son dies." Kuang Wenbo laughed, "What's more, he's not dead, look at how messed up you are."
"Team Kuang said it will be fine?"
"...I can't say that everything will be fine." Kuang Wenbai was silent for a moment, "We will have problems, but the Fairness Party will probably be fine."
"how to say?"
"In this world, power is the only thing that doesn't treat people as human beings." Looking at the commotion in the distance, Kuang Wenbai also lowered his voice, "The five kings of our Fairness Party gathered here for the purpose of merging.
It's not for fighting. The merger is beneficial, so the overall situation will not change, but there will be friction when two families get married, let alone five families who want to merge into one family. Before the merger, there were no bumps in the road, no private or public confrontation.
It will be less."
"Pingpin Wang Hewen used the book club to make trouble in order to take advantage. Taking advantage is his purpose. The book club is just a bargaining chip. Without the book club, he would take advantage of other things. But Pingping Wang Shibaofeng started to make trouble.
Also to take advantage, he was tricked by the King of Fairness, so he had to find his place. Just in time, something happened to his son. He went crazy under the influence of alcohol. Is it because he was really crazy? No. Look, people are not crazy at night.
They just want to take advantage."
Kuang Wenbai looked into the distance and talked. At this time, Long Xian's team had obviously begun to confront the Baofeng team, but the anger between the two sides did not diminish in the night. More people on the Baofeng came out of the night.
Once hit, there will be another firefight.
"Before the merger, we all had to fight." Kuang Wenbo said with his hands behind his back, "The lives of those below us are not that valuable. When the people above start negotiating, the people below will start fighting. When the fight lasts, everyone will have a sense of balance.
The matter was settled. Just like the three people pursued by the Baofeng, they said they were in a reading group, do you think it was true? In fact, I think it is more likely that one of the leaders in the Baofeng would take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents."
He has a lot of experience in the world, and what he said immediately showed its meaning, and the injury on his nose seemed to be a little better. The soldier next to him frowned, no matter what he thought, it made sense: "Well, Kuang...Brother Kuang
, our side..."
"We won't be at peace here for long. If there's a fight, it means we're talking about important things. Be more alert." Kuang Wenbai looked outside calmly. After a moment, he patted the other party on the shoulder and said, "Don't
Worry, we know everything about it. My brothers, if anything happens, I will remind you. You have to take care of yourself recently and be cautious in your words and deeds. That’s it. There are strong winds and waves. This has not been the case in recent years. I remember when we were in the north, we encountered
They are all Jurchens..."
In the darkness of the night, the confrontation in the distance continued. Both sides were summoning more troops. Kuang Wenbai said this for a while, recalling the past events in the Northland and chatting with the other party for a while. The soldier was shocked when he heard this.
He didn't try his best to flatter Kuang Wenbo and boasted and complimented him.
After less than half an hour, important people from both sides arrived, and the chaos in the distance gradually dissipated. Kuang Wenbai said: "Look, after fighting and fighting, we still have to live our lives. Today is the eleventh day, and there will be a meeting on Monday.
Just wait and see, none of our five families will go there, and some of them will be noisy."
He said this and went down from the wall with his hands behind his hands. It was almost dawn at this time, and the pain in his nose was slightly relieved by showing off things in front of people. After sunrise, after breakfast, he went out to do some research, and sure enough,
On this day, the internal meeting of the Fairness Party was still held as usual. Many people who were qualified to attend the meeting rushed to the venue one after another. It can be imagined that the meeting on this day will be very intense.
By noon, some situations in the morning meeting had already come out. It is said that the "King of Equality" Shi Baofeng asked the five parties in the Fair Party to pass the decision to clean up the "book club" at the meeting. His will was strong and he directly
Interrupting the discussion of all other issues, some big bosses at the venue almost got into a fight and started fighting.
Regardless of the outcome of the meeting, from yesterday to today, the "King of Equality" has begun to issue large-scale rewards and arrest warrants throughout the city, searching for people who hide the southwest books, and even stated that if the evidence is reliable, the reward can be paid on a human head.
.Such a reward began to cause chaos in the city, and the men of "Long Xian" went out in large numbers to stop such things in various parts of the city. It is said that those who committed murder on the street were immediately killed by the men of "Long Xian".
Even though the "King of Ping An" took the opportunity to get angry after his son was almost killed, with the confrontation from yesterday to today, the people under the "King of Ping An" in the city have become angry, and many people even shouted in the street: "
Let you see, today's Jiangning, after all, our King of Justice has the final say!" Such a declaration.
Kuang Wenbai and the others listened to these rumors, and they were excited but also a little uneasy. As long as the King of Fairness or the King of Pingping refused to give in in this incident, the situation in the city would not be easy.
Soon, further changes occurred.
At this time, the afternoon meeting may have just begun. Kuang Wenbai was sitting on the street enjoying the cool air when he saw the knights who were delivering the order running all the way into the compound of the "Undead Guard" in Chufang City. Soon after, the gongs of the assembly clanged.
The bell rang, and people on the road were still watching the excitement. Kuang Wenbai was injured and was on leave. He didn't know if he should go to gather for a while, but after a while, some soldiers who received the order closed both ends of the market.
The "Undead Guards" and some ordinary soldiers guarding this place were mobilized, and then the order to track down the "Reading Club" was announced within Fang City.
The order issued by "King of Wheels" Xu Zhaonan to apprehend the members of the reading club was extremely strict, and the subsequent measures were also quite severe. First, the "Undead Guard" and the soldiers were asked to send people to search each other's residences.
After that, every room in the market here will be thoroughly searched. Anyone who hides books that "pretend to be called Southwest" or "confuse the public with evil words" will be shot without mercy!
Something is going to happen...
Kuang Wenbai's heart sank.
After a while, he saw warning fireworks rising in the city, and a fight broke out somewhere.
After a while, in the "Undead Guard" station, a captain and several members seemed to find something in their room. The fight suddenly started, and some people shouted: "This is a frame-up!" and rushed out.
"King of Wheels" Xu Zhaonan joins the game.
…
Not three moments later, Qu Longjun, a "little scholar" who went out to buy newsprint, saw the sudden changes in the city.
I don't know what happened on the territory of the "King of Wheels", but not long after each other, two warning fireworks were raised, and the sounds of fighting and chaos were faintly heard.
She hugged the few newspapers she bought in her arms and ran toward the small courtyard where "White Rakshasa" lived.
On the street, many pedestrians were also running.
Qu Longjun didn't have much physical strength to defend herself, and the range she usually traveled wasn't too far. After turning two streets, she saw the gate of the dilapidated courtyard. She walked towards it, and halfway, a
The figure came over, grabbed her shoulders suddenly, and led her in the opposite direction.
"Big, aunt..."
The person she calls aunt is Huo Qinghua, the leader of the "White Rakshasa" in this dilapidated courtyard. She has a scar on her face and is usually stern, but she takes good care of Qu Longjun and keeps her here.
In the yard, it was also the other party's decision to let her read the newspaper every day.
At this moment, Madam Huo stuffed something into Qu Longjun's arms. Qu Longjun looked at it and saw that it was some broken silver and two knives, one long and one short.
"Something is going to happen, don't go back."
"What, what's wrong..."
"The superiors will issue an order soon to track down...that person from the reading club..."
"Book club...I'm not..."
After reading newspapers in Jiangning for several months, Qu Longjun knew the details of the so-called "reading club" here. On several occasions, sisters within the "White Rakshasa" even snatched some small books and brought them back to her to read.
As someone who has lived in the Southwest and read books such as "Women Can Hold Up Half the Sky", she felt that the remarks in those pamphlets seemed a bit strange and did not seem to be the tone of the Southwest. But of course, she had a deep understanding of the politics of the Southwest.
The understanding is not very deep and I cannot make a conclusion on this matter.
"The old man has given an order. No matter whether it can be found out or not, at least one person from every hundred people in every place must be handed over to handle errands. The wrong person can be killed, but not let go." Aunt Huo hugged her and walked forward, explaining simply.
asked the question, "In our whole yard, you are the only one who can read..."
"But..." Qu Longjun was almost in disbelief, "...how could this be possible?"
"Everyone who knows how to read will be killed. What future does the Fair Party have?" Huo Auntie lowered her head and hugged her. "Hurry up and find a way to get out of the city and escape as far away as possible..."
She let go of her and pushed her forward.
Qu Longjun turned around and saw the usually indifferent woman with a scar waving her hand towards her, then turned around and walked towards the yard.
In the bleak afternoon light, Qu Longjun turned around and ran. What happened just now was in a hurry. She shed some tears when Aunt Huo asked her to leave, but she stopped crying at this moment. She looked at the chaos around her and knew that she had to run as fast as possible.
Find a place to hide.
She ran into a small alley next to her and crossed the alleyway. Behind her was a sewage river full of mud. Qu Longjun fell into the mud beside the river with a bang. When she got up, she was already covered with a lot of stench.
In the mud, no one will pay attention to her.
Qu Longjun tightened the money in his arms and hid the knife close to his body. Qu Longjun held the slightly longer knife and walked towards the hiding place in his memory, lowering his head.
The soldiers delivering the order ran through the streets and rushed into a nearby dilapidated courtyard.
"King of Yama" Zhou Shang, joins the game.
…
The meeting lasted all afternoon in a noisy manner.
Chaotic sounds in the city came into the meeting from time to time, and soldiers with orders of one kind kept coming, bringing various news to various people, and bringing out orders one by one, but for the "book club"
" He Wen and the "King of Justice" never let go of the issue from the beginning to the end.
As evening approached, even if there was no result, various people in the meeting probably knew that Xu Zhaonan and Zhou Shang had already expressed their stance that afternoon.
The late sunset turned red. Everyone took a break and gathered in nearby attics and courtyards to chat. Some people wondered, "What kind of medicine is sold in King Fairy's gourd?" Some people said: "The next meeting will be in two days, this time.
It’s been two days and I still don’t know what will happen.”
In the distance, there are black smoke columns rising from the city.
"Dragon Xian" Fu Pingbo still led his people to suppress the situation in the city, but some medium-sized conflagrations occurred one after another.
There are also various accidents that occur.
Armed with a piece of recent news, Meng Zhuotao, who was in charge of the "Resentment Meeting", was silent for a moment in front of the window on the second floor of the wooden building where the conference hall was located. When someone greeted him, he responded casually. After a while, "Jackdaw"
"Chen Juefang came in a hurry.
"problem occurs……"
"The person who died is one of mine. Old Chen, your moral character is unbelievable. Don't let the cat cry over the mouse..."
"You don't understand this? We were tricked by the reading club..."
"Who knows if you deliberately tricked me."
"Do I need it?" Chen Juefang stared, "It was your people who made the attack first. They are totally innocent. Why did they take action? Can't you explain it clearly?"
"There are only thirty people in my place, and twenty-three of them have small notebooks under the quilts. Lao Chen, it's not the first day that everyone has been involved in the gangs and lakes. They have really fallen into the trap... Only those who can clean themselves will clean themselves up!" Meng
Chutao also stared.
Chen Juefang looked at him for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Lao Meng, it was your people who didn't obey the rules. They were the ones who made the first move."
Meng Zhutao looked at him calmly: "Yes, they deserve to die."
Chen Juefang waved his hand: "That's not what happened... Lao Meng, don't get angry with me. This is clearly done intentionally by the Reading Club."
"...You think I didn't expect it?" Meng Zhuotao was silent for a moment, "He Wen made a move, Shi Baofeng made a move, Zhou Shang and us made a move, and the reading club also made a move. Old Chen, I will do it today Dong, let’s talk...not just in Jiangning, there will be many things like this in the future."
Chen Juefang looked at him, and then nodded solemnly.
Similar conversations happened in many places at this moment.
…
On a terrace of the main building behind the venue, Gao Chang and He Wen were also watching the chaotic scenes spreading throughout the city.
"Is it necessary to do this?" After watching for a while, Gao Chang said, "Brother He, what exactly do you want to do? Is the study club really yours? Or do you really believe in what they say?"
He Wen glanced at him: "General Gao, what the reading club said, is it really unreasonable?"
"How much is truth worth?" Gao Chang asked, "Brother He, look at these things in Jiangning City. Now it's not just Jiangning. After they decided to clean up the meeting, their orders have been sent out for five hundred miles. Do you know that the whole Jiangnan will be in chaos next? If you really instigate the reading club behind the scenes to clean up our four families, what they will do is to prepare for the next war in the entire Jiangnan. In today's Jiangning, I, Gao Chang, am the only one who has not taken action. , Brother He, because I want to figure it out before I take action, lest I hit the wrong person."
"General Gao, principles can help you win battles." He Wendao said, "Today, the strongest and most capable army is the army in the world. Brother Gao, you know this. Why don't we learn from it?"
"Because I don't need it!" Gao Chang said, "If we train troops like in the Southwest, today's Fair Party will have no place for me, Gao Chang! I, Gao Chang, can win the battle because my brothers believe in me. Submit me! The people under me, and then let the people under them believe in them and obey them! Only then can we have the so-called 'King Gao' today! I, Gao, treat my brothers as I treat my brothers. Today's Jiangning City Li, I didn’t do anything because I regard you as a brother! Brother He, tell me, what are you thinking about? "
He looked at He Wen, and He Wen looked at him: "I was thinking, sooner or later, we will face the strongest army. At that time, how can our brothers fight with them because of their loyalty?"
Gao Chang waved his hand: "Those scholars said that the Southwest is strong and easy to break, and they cannot survive it."
"Even so, what if we fight the Jurchens? What if we fight the Beiwei army in the southeast?"
"The Jurchens have declined and are not as good as they used to be. As for the Beiwei army, you and I know clearly that it is just a soldier trained by the little emperor to protect him from the wind and rain outside. Sooner or later, it will not be able to hold on. !”
"General Gao, your military training method is to rely on all the enemies to support themselves?"
"Mr. He, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on for a long time because of the betrayal and separation!"
Gao Chang is waiting for him.
After a moment, Gao Chang waved his hand: "That's not the case. Mr. He, what if I admit that what you said makes sense? How did we get up in the past two years? Are you still down? We train like that in the Southwest.
, can we learn from it? If you follow the Southwest style, you must be honest as an official and enforce orders and prohibitions. How many people under me will immediately disobey me, and how many people under you will immediately disobey you!? You are a scholar, and I, Gao, am also a student of history.
Read, which emperor in the past and present did not have the kind of brotherly loyalty you mentioned, and then took away their power after they got up, and treated them as wealthy and idle people. If you have no benefits, who will conquer the world with you? Southwest Ningyi said in the pamphlet with a high-sounding
When it comes to the people, are the people under him not greedy? The people under him are still greedy! He beats people year after year. That’s because he has great prestige. People are afraid of him because of his fierce fists. It’s not because of his great principles. Wait until one day he dies.
Come on, look what that truth is worth!"
He Wen laughed: "It seems that General Gao still reads those pamphlets."
"Brother He, you and I can't take it. If this is your way of gaining power, that's it. But if you want to gain power and kill three of them, or kill Zhou Shang, why do you bother to use the title of reading club? You have the strength to beat four.
? There are no outsiders today, please tell me the truth and let go of the study club move, and I will always help you."
Gao Chang's eyes were sincere. He Wen sat down beside him, poured himself a cup of tea, and seemed to be thinking about it. After a while, he sighed: "General Gao, in two years, the Fairness Party has moved too fast.
Indeed, I also know that there are some things that you can't help yourself. The people around you want to get rich based on glory and wealth. But as you said, if we can't defeat them, surrendering today is enough. Why go to the future?
How about humiliating yourself?"
"I said it, throughout the ages..."
"Throughout the ages, it has always been like this because no one has trained soldiers like those in the Southwest! But today we have it! If we have it today, we will have it tomorrow! Things that have been considered in the past and present will not be counted tomorrow!" He Wen's voice was decisive,
"General Gao, the expediency has come to an end. If the Fair Party wants to change, there is only one chance to use the fire of the book club and the name from the southwest to strictly enforce military discipline and internal discipline, and let everyone enforce the rules and prohibitions.
No more nonsense!"
"What should you do if you can't keep up?"
"Either I will kill them, or they will kill me. General Gao, will you follow, or not?"
"No one will follow you!" Gao Chang slapped his palm on the table, his hair and beard all spread out, he stretched out his hand and pointed at He Wen: "What on earth are you..." At this point, he suddenly hesitated, and then
Think about it.
"You...you...cooperated with people from Southwest?"
He Wen looked at him: "...what if?"
"..."
"General Gao, your concerns are justified."
On September 11, as the cool autumn breeze blew into this sprawling house with the evening sunshine, He Wen spoke calmly.
"...No one has ever done this in the past. If I had spoken empty words before, maybe no one would have believed me. But today's world is no longer yesterday. Southwest has done those things, and what they said is true.
Some people will believe that if the Fair Party wants to reform, it can be based on such people. With such people, we may be able to train soldiers like those in the Southwest... We have been running forward for two years, and if we continue to run forward,
There is really no turning back. In the end, it is just the same old path of so-called peasant uprisings. Stopping now is the only chance. I may die, but if I know that I will die in the future, I want to give it a try."
"Brother Gao...are you going to follow or not?"
…
There was a loud bang.
In the room, Gao Chang blasted open the entire table, sawdust flying in the sunset, his eyes were like blood, and he was facing off with He Wen——